A Global Good Neighbor Ethic for International Relations

On May 16, the International Relations Center (IRC), a policy
studies institute, will release a report on their Global Good
Neighbor initiative. The project will outline the principles of a
US foreign policy that would be driven not by doctrine or ideology,
but by ethics that are deeply American: the golden rule, personal
responsibility, common sense, and human decency.

IRC’s vision is modeled after the Good Neighbor policy
introduced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s. Working
from the idea that international relations should be grounded in
self-respect and the respect of others, FDR shifted US policy away
from racial and economic imperialism toward a global leadership
based on cooperation with other nations.

The world has drastically changed since FDR’s time, but the
spirit of his policy is particularly relevant to our increasingly
global world. According to the
IRC
summary
, the Global Good Neighbor initiative is based on
principles like improving domestic quality of life, supporting
sustainable development at home and abroad, and having a government
that is accountable, transparent, and a true reflection of the
American people.
Grace Hanson

Go there >>
Executive
Summary, A Global Good Neighbor Ethic for International
Relations

Go there too >>
Good
Neighbor Initiative

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